


No "They're" There

by yawoozyalose



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Blow Jobs, Dry Humping, Hand Jobs, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Masturbation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-06 07:22:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6744910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yawoozyalose/pseuds/yawoozyalose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The words on screen that stared back at him seemed both childish and mocking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Seungcheol only wanted to grab Jihoon's attention. He was surprised when he felt the heat between them that shot a sensation straight to his groin when he tugged on the small wrist. He pulled his hand back and stared at it briefly while Jihoon turned to look at him with an expression that was equally bewildered.

Tentatively, Jihoon poked a finger into Seungcheol's hand and the feeling had struck both of them again.

“This can't be happening,” was the first thing out of Jihoon's mouth. He pulled his cap off his head and smoothed his hair back. “This doesn't make any sense, you've touched me like a million times before.” He placed the cap back on and turned back toward the computer.

Seungcheol continued staring at his own hands. He glanced over at Jihoon for a moment as he spoke, “Then one of us just got out of adolescence.” He sighed, folding his hands in his lap. “Well, we're not just going to ignore it, are we?”

“Just give me a minute to look this up, alright?” Jihoon snapped. “We can't address anything we're not sure about.” He punched in the symptoms so quickly he made multiple spelling errors.

“What's there to be confused about?” Seungcheol shot back. “You felt it. I felt it. We've both only just become adults. We can call it what it is.”

Between Seungcheol in his left ear and staring at the search engine's verdict, Jihoon only grimaced further. The words on screen that stared back at him seemed both childish and mocking. Soulmates. That was the short name for the mysterious phenomenon that very rarely happened between two individuals of sexual maturity. What science had discovered about 'Soulmates' was so little. Of the 'soulmates' studied, it showed an overwhelming compatibility in brain activity when monitored and that was the brunt of it. 'Soulmates' didn't account for attraction, nor did it account for sexuality. 'Soulmates' were simply two exceptionally compatible people that, when together, their bodies reacted much more sensitively to the other's. The estimation was anywhere to 200 to 1000 times more sensitive.

Jihoon rubbed his eyes, dragging his hands down his face. He groaned. “Right, fine. You're right. So here's what we're going to do: pretend like nothing is different.”

Seungcheol sucked through his teeth. “I don't know, Jihoon. We should at least tell the guys. We're going to run into problems if we accidentally touch each other or have to do anything for choreography. I don't want this to be a problem in the long run.”

“We're not telling the guys,” Jihoon insisted. “We can't let something like this get out. You know what they'll say if two guys in the same group turn out to be 'Soulmates'.”

“Put a little more thought into this. It's a problem if we touch each other even by accident-”

“So we'll be more careful,” Jihoon interrupted. “It's nothing.”

Seungcheol relented because he could hear the anger start to raise Jihoon's voice, saw the furrow of the brows. The other man couldn't be reasoned with when he acted like that and Seungcheol folded at the time. At that point, there was no discussion of it beyond that. 

Accidents were initially easy to avoid. They were careful, mindful of avoiding each other unless physical contact was absolutely necessary. Over time they got used to it, and once they got used to it they grew comfortable. That comfort bred thoughtlessness, which gave way to inevitable clumsiness.

All it took was a brief stumble during dance practice. Jihoon reached out to Seungcheol's forearm to pull the larger man back in and steady him. The heat shot straight through Jihoon's hand, down the arm and warmed his entire body. He pulled his arm back almost violently, and the other eleven turned to look at him. He sucked in a breath, turned to Seungcheol who's eyes were wide and lips parted. He breathed out, loudly.

“Pulled a muscle in my arm.” Jihoon came up with it quickly, rubbing up and down an arm he pretended was sore. The lie was accepted with nods and brief words of sympathy before the practice continued.

That's when the reality of it made its impression on Jihoon. It was easy to say they just couldn't touch each other, easy to imagine away the problem as long as they avoided each other but they were completely unable to avoid each other. Touching for fans, brushing against each other in tight stairways or hallways, a misstep in dance practice causing one to fall into the other.

And as it got more difficult, both were finding there was something they had missed about the sensation if they had avoided contact long enough. Finding new pornographic material couldn't even hold up to a brief, fleeting touch.

Not long after debut, between the brief downtime of the second album' preparations, Seungcheol had followed Jihoon to the studio and occupied the accompanying swivel chair. He slammed a hand on the console, dangerously close to Jihoon's arm. “We need to talk.”

Jihoon slid the headphones off, wearing them around his neck. He tapped the spacebar to pause the track and wrung his hands. “I got a feeling I'm not going to like this.”

“Well, I don't like what we're doing right now either,” Seungcheol had snapped. He bowed his head in immediate apology. “I'm sorry, I'm frustrated. I can't even get myself off. It just doesn't work.”

Jihoon grimaced slightly, though he adjusted his expression to something more placid. “Straightforward. But to be frank, I've been experiencing the same problems. I imagine you didn't come here without a solution.”

“Think of it more as a proposition,” Seungcheol explained delicately. “I had to put some thought into this, figure out how we could have a set up to make it the least awkward possible. So, hear me out. No interruptions, because I can't think of anything better and I doubt you can. We take off our shirts, sit back to back so the skin is touching and we jerk off. We don't have to look at each other, just focus in on ourselves.”

“You're right about one thing,” Jihoon started.

“What is that?”

“I can't think of a better idea.” He'd pulled the headphones off, rolled his chair back a bit and spun it to face his friend. “I'm not a fan of it, but it's better than what we've been doing.”

Seungcheol blinked. “You actually agree to it?”

Jihoon responded with a small shrug. “Yeah.”

They locked the door, pushed the swivel chairs to the far corners of the room to clear space in the center. The pair of them sat on the floor, pulled their shirts off and tossed them aside. They scooted backward until their skin met. Immediately upon the contact, Jihoon gasped. The heat entered his small body immediately, the sensation briefly flooding his stomach and shooting down into his crotch.

The effect was delayed in Seungcheol's larger body, but soon he felt the hard pump of his eager heart and the surge of lust in his more eager cock. He pulled himself out of his jeans, stroking himself as the sensation moved through his body in waves.

It took a few moments for Jihoon to gather his nerves. He palmed himself a little more shyly for a few moments before he pulled his shorts down to his ankles and took his prick in hand. Both of them were aware of the rustle of clothing, the sound of the heel of their palms slamming against the shaft at every jerk. Both pairs had their eyes slipped shut and homed in on the feeling, on the heat radiating off of their backs and pushing into their skin like massaging fingers until they came into their hands. Each of them heard the hitched breath of the other, the stuttered breathing at the apex of orgasms that shook throughout their bodies. Jihoon could feel it when Seungcheol came and vice versa.

They settled, the heat of where their skin made contact turning cool and relaxing. Jihoon always kept paper towels stocked in the studio after several accidents with coffee spills. He ripped off several sheets and handed some over to Seungcheol before taking care of his own mess.

Neither had addressed it after the fact. They took care of their cum rag. Seungcheol said his goodnight and Jihoon returned to his work. Ghost of the sensations still imprinted themselves on their minds, the shudder of bodies, the patterns of breathing. All of it was disconcerting.


	2. Chapter 2

At first they kept it down to once a week, but the act had the opposite intended effect. They became needier they upped the count to two or three times a week to combat that. After the encounters lost their novelty, they were able to hang back afterward and hold conversations like old times.

There was always the lingering curiosity of what it would feel like to push the boundary of the skin contact, though it was only brought up once. Post orgasm, post clean up where they'd made themselves decent and Jihoon was showing off the progress on a track afterward. Seungcheol had nodded along without really listening, offering useless praise and baseless feedback to get over the subject as quickly a possible before a lull in their exchange allowed him the opportunity to change the subject.

“You ever think about really touching each other?” Seungcheol couldn't think of a better way to phrase it, but he wished he had when he saw the wrinkle in Jihoon's forehead.

“This isn't a conversation I want to have right now,” Jihoon's tone was biting. He turned back toward the monitor and pretended to be occupied by the track, only expanding and minimizing the track over and over again in silence until Seungcheol got the hint and left.

Seungcheol hadn't made the mistake of bringing it up again. Neither of them referenced back to it. They continued with their meetings habitually until the company had started really pressuring Jihoon to finish up the compositions. Jihoon had essentially told Seungcheol they had to put everything on hold until he was done with the album.

Jihoon was a mess a week into it, moody and serious from an apparent lack of sleep. While he holed himself up in the studio for most of the day, dance practice was where the other members saw just how exhausted he was, where he berated himself or snapped at others every time one of them made a mistake.

There was a certain protocol when dealing with Jihoon. The more outgoing would dote and care for him while the others stayed clear until he settled down. Seungcheol typically coddled him, but that role felt inappropriate and he kept to the side while others set out to put Jihoon in a better mood.

That earned glances. Jeonghan stepped by Seungcheol and kept his voice low. “Are you feeling alright?” He gestured toward Jihoon. “Are you guys fighting?”

“No.” That was the truth, after all. They weren't fighting. But he might have stared at the smallest member for too long, because Jeonghan had the nudge him by the shoulder to earn his attention.

“But something is wrong,” Jeonghan observed.

“Wrong is a little of an over-exaggeration.” His lips quirked, though Jeonghan ended up more confused. “I can't tell you right now. Meet me back here tonight after everyone's gone to bed, alright?”

“Sure.” Jeonghan smiled, brief and concerned, before slinking back to the group of the more quiet members.

That was probably a mistake, though at that point Seungcheol was indifferent. He couldn't go his whole life without anyone else knowing. He waited there hours later, until the door clicked and Jeonghan peeked his head inside. They greeted each other with a nod and sat beside each other on the ground.

“I think Jihoon and I, uh, we've got that thing. You know?” He couldn't remember the scientific name for the life of him, and soulmates sounded too childish to repeat. Jeonghan cocked his head at him and Seungcheol continued his awfully vague description. “Like, it's different if I touch Jihoon than with anyone else.”

“Ah,” Jeonghan started nodding. “Yeah, the soulmates thing.” It sounded better from Jeonghan's mouth than his own, at least. “So that's why you guys are avoiding each other?”

“About that,” Seungcheol paused for a dry laugh. That gave the wrong impression, because Jeonghan's eyes went wide and he got a punch in the shoulder.

“You guys didn't-”

Rubbing his shoulder, Seugncheol interrupted, “Whatever you're thinking, no, we didn't.”

“Oh thank God,” Jeonghan breathed. “But what did you guys do?”

Recounting it felt a little awkward, but he wanted to be mature and frank about it. “Just back to back, not looking at each other or touching each other or anything, we masturbated.” He continued before Jeonghan got a word in. “He wanted to stop while he finished the album. I know it's having an effect on him. I mean, it is on me too. It's more obvious with him. Usually I can swing by and make him feel better about things, but I don't think he'd be comfortable with me right now.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Jeonghan was quiet for a moment, humming before he spoke again. “He needs you, you know. Even if it makes him uncomfortable, you know him better than any of us.”

“That's what got me in this mess in the first place,” Seungcheol snorted. “It's not that I disagree, I just don't want to waste my time and get him mad.”

Jeonghan rolled his eyes. “You're too easy on him. Use your seniority if you have to. He can't be treating the other members like that and you shouldn't feel intimidated.”

“Why don't you scold him?”

Jeonghan smirked. “I like living.” They chuckled, and once they became a little more comfortable Jeonghan continued with, “So what does it feel like? When you guys touch, I mean.”

“Like an electrical current, but a good one,” Seungcheol started. “Like wherever the point of contact is, everything is concentrated right there. I've never felt anything like it before.”

“You're not worried about one of you developing any feelings?”

Seungcheol shrugged. “I'm not. I don't think he is, either. We don't talk about it. He doesn't like to. He didn't want me telling anyone else, so I'm trusting you here.”

“You know I won't tell anyone, but I think you should go talk to him,” Jeonghan suggested. “You avoiding him won't help, he'll feel better knowing you're supporting him”

Seungcheol gave his word, and after sticking around a little longer for conversation they split and he headed for the studio. He wasn't sure what he was in for, but he wasn't looking forward to it. They'd just adjusted to the routine, and with both of them antsy, frustrated and overworked the outlook wasn't positive.

Jihoon had the keyboard set out in front of him. His headphones weren't plugged in, the notes he played could be heard from the speaker. Seungcheol stood in the doorway, deciding to listen before he interrupted. He realized Jihoon was playing around, putting variations on the same sixteen bars of melody and Seungcheol listened for a while before clearing his throat and catching the attention of the younger.

Jihoon dropped his hands and looked over his shoulder. “I'm sorry for losing it at practice today,” he started. He spun in his chair, facing the elder. “I know you make excuses for me. I don't need you to. It's fine if they confront me about it.”

“A lot of them are afraid to.” Seungcheol stepped in, standing in front of the other.

“You set that precedent,” Jihoon had accused, and he hadn't meant any offense but he looked Seungcheol in the eye as he said it. “I can handle being scolded, you know.”

The words still sat poorly with Seungcheol, and before he thought against it he bit back with, “You can't even handle practice right now.”

That was the wrong thing to say. Jihoon's expression soured. “So what are you hoping to accomplish right now? I'm working and we don't have a lot of time left.”

Seungcheol folded his arms. “I'm having a hard time too, alright?”

“Don't get started on that,” Jihoon warned. “Look, we can't keep doing it. We have to learn how to deal on our own.”

“We're not doing a good job of it,” Seungcheol argued.

“You're crazy, jeopardizing our livelihood because jacking off sucks now. Are you not aware of how ridiculous that sounds?”

He didn't want himself getting that mad, but his jaw started tensing. “Careful about the tone you take with me.”

Jihoon smirked now. “Or what? What are you going to do, Seungcheol?” He could admit he was blatantly provoking Seungcheol, but he hadn't actually anticipated the smack that came to the cheek. It wasn't hard, but sharp and stinging and the remnant of the touch warmed his skin and pulsed through his body. 

He grabbed the wrist of the hand that hit him and pulled hard. Seungcheol lost his footing and fell into Jihoon, knocking the swivel chair back and throwing the pair to the ground tangled.

They were too close, far too much was touching. Jihoon swallowed audibly, found Seungcheol's eyes but couldn't bring himself to tell the other to get off because his body burned, and he felt the swell in his jeans. The breath on his face made him squirm.

Seungcheol was hard against his thigh. He bucked, and Jihoon swallowed a sound when the hip pressed between his thighs had brushed against his erection.

If there was a protest, it was lost in a haze and swallowed down because Jihoon's most urgent thought became getting his hands on skin. Seungcheol's shirt rode up in the back, exposing a strip and Jihoon prodded a finger alongside it. The contact sparked warm and pleasant up his arm. He flattened his hand and slid it along the back.

Seungcheol kept swearing. He swore at every roll of the hips, every time a hand made its way back up between the shoulder blades. While Jihoon didn't thrust back up, he parted his thighs to let the other sink between him and Seungcheol understood the implication.

They shouldn't have let it get to that point, and Seungcheol knew how bad it would end up but he ached. He ached, and hungered and burned so worries were lost to thrusts and twisting his body so he was able to relieve Jihoon of the same pain.

He came first, noisily with a strained pitch at the back of his throat. Jihoon still wasn't done, still rubbing at his back. Seungcheol slipped his eyes shut and kept rubbing up against him until the other finished.

They settled, separated by laying side-by-side. Seungcheol had been sweating under his clothes. He pushed himself off the ground and helped himself to tissues, dabbing them at the back of the neck under the hairline to soak up the sweat. 

Jihoon headed to the bathroom first, instead of bothering with changing he peeled off his sticky underwear and rinsed them in the sink, he'd drape them over a chair in his studio to let them dry. His jeans didn't get it too bad. A bit of cold water and a balled up paper towel was enough. He didn't let them dry, just slid back into them before heading back to his studio only to see Seungcheol had left. A relief, as far as Jihoon was concerned.

Returning to work was difficult. Everything he played and worked with suddenly sounded dissatisfying. He wasn't exactly upset, but he was a annoyed. A little at Seungcheol, a little at their situation, but mostly at himself.

He'd been forcing himself to listen to the variations he'd recorded when he heard the door. Seungcheol entered freshly showered with wet hair and a new set of clothes. He let himself in, took a seat on the couch and watched Jihoon work for a little bit before the smaller had turned his attention toward him.

“I was hoping you wouldn't be back.”

At that point, it no longer stung. Seungcheol shrugged. “Honestly, I didn't want to.”

After a stretch of silence, Seungcheol anticipated he'd be the one to break it before Jihoon spoke up. “Well, I'll listen.”

That got Seungcheol smiling, at least briefly before he had to get serious again. “I appreciate it.” In the shower he'd given thought to what he was going to say. It was an easier conversation with the other party missing. “I don't know how we could make this work. I don't know what it would take for you to agree to it and I don't know what you'd want from me, so I'm expecting you to tell me those things after I suggest this. Got me?”

“Alright,” Jihoon nodded, clearly uncomfortable by the way he worked his hands at the hem of his sweatshirt, tugging and stretching.

“I think we should really try having sex with each other.” He would've laughed at Jihoon's expression in any other context.

“Do you realize what you're asking of me?” Jihoon blanched. “I've never even dated before.”

“Is that what you want? I can date you.”

“You don't even like me,” Jihoon countered.

“I can learn,” Seungcheol insisted. “I know you have to sacrifice more than me, so let me sacrifice what I can for you.”

“This is crazy,” Jihoon dismissed. “It's easy to say all of that when you're speaking as my friend, but actually think about everything here. Having to trick yourself into liking me so I don't have to feel bad about losing my virginity to you-”

“Don't say it like that.” Seungcheol fought a grimace. “It's weird when you say it like that.”

The humor wasn't lost on Jihoon. He snorted. “It's just getting weird?”

“Just,” Seungcheol sighed. “Just let me try. I want to like you, and I want to do it the right way. I don't want to make you feel like you're losing anything to me and I want to do what's best for the both of us. It's not like you have to agree to this.”

“You don't even like men.”

“I like women, sure. I also like men more than you think.”

At that, Jihoon sat back with raised brows. He stayed silent for a moment, tapped the armrest on his swivel chair. He swallowed. “Here are my terms.” Jihoon had smiled at Seungcheol's expression, but didn't have it in him to laugh. He continued, “I don't want it to be thought of as us just taking care of a mutual problem. I don't want it to be so selfish. Even if we don't like each other that way, I don't want us to forget our friendship.”

“You want us to be mindful of each other,” Seungcheol offered as he understood it.

“Essentially,” Jihoon agreed. “There's more to it than that, but we'll play it by ear.”

Seungcheol nodded. “I've got no problem with that.”

“And I need time,” Jihoon added, a little rushed. “Finishing the album is priority, and then we have shoots and then promotions. I need that time to prepare myself.”

“Prepare yourself?”

Jihoon's ears were getting red. “I don't know a lot. I won't know what to do or what I'd want.”

“Ah, I understand. Of course.” Seungcheol always thought Jihoon was cute in a more objective sense, but seeing the long-time friend nervous and shy spurred the thought suddenly. Jihoon was cute. “Take as long as you need. We'll go at your pace.”

“Thanks.” Jihoon bowed his head, not sure what he was thanking Seungcheol for.


	3. Chapter 3

They set on a night a week after promotions ended upon Jihoon’s insistence. It gave them time to rest, gave Jihoon the time to do research and let them fall back into a predictable routine to ensure they wouldn’t be disturbed while they were using the studio.

Seungcheol felt stupid for dressing up in a polo and khakis when he was greeted by Jihoon in sweats. Neither commented on it for either of their sake, but Jihoon did appreciate the effort.

In what free time he had Jihoon had learned what he could, mostly learning what to expect and what to ask for. He needed the boost in confidence from getting the first word in, so he spoke first. “I want you to take off your clothes before I do.”

That was reasonable. Between the two of them, Seungcheol was more proud of his body. As proud as he was, he didn't make a show of it. Even he felt a little shy himself being seen that way, being watched openly. 

He removed his polo. At least he no-longer looked over-dressed. He hesitated at the belt, but he worked it off and stepped out of his khakis. Then the boxers went. He sucked in a breath before shedding the last of modesty and letting Jihoon really look at him.

It certainly wasn't the first time Jihoon had seen the man naked, and it struck him then that it wouldn’t be the last. A new novelty hit him, something exciting that he hadn't previously felt and that excitement was arousing on its own. A good sign, as far as the younger was concerned.

“I'm going to touch you.” Jihoon stood then, took a tentative step toward his friend but left some space between them. His fingers reached for the forearm in a soft, careful grip and he stayed intent on not averting his eyes when the feeling hit him. He kept his eyes on Seungcheol's body, associating the sight with the sensation starting to flood him. He trailed his fingers along the forearms first, thick compared to his own. He moved up the bicep, but stopped abruptly before reaching the chest. That was too much too fast.

He shifted his gaze to the thighs and, oh, Seungcheol was hard. It stood up and twitched. Even though it was because of their bizarre affliction there was still an allure to thinking that it was his touch that did it. 

He was half hard himself, the only thing keeping him from getting the rest of the way there were nerves. He looked back up to Seungcheol and met his friend’s gaze. “Are you okay?”

Seungcheol laughed, sounding nearly as desperate as he felt. “This is a real test of discipline.”

Jihoon hummed, he didn't want to hear anymore about it. He withdrew his hands, the loss of the contact regrettable but still briefly thrumming over his skin. “Do you want me to get undressed now?”

“Alright.” Seungcheol breathed, snapped his eyes shut for a moment to collect himself. When he opened them Jihoon was stepping out of his own clothes cutely. Inadvertently cute, that was just the way he did things. Jihoon’s appearance made everything look that way.

Shyly, he turned his back toward Seungcheol. He'd only been removing his shirt, but he steeled and turned back before pulling it off and exposing himself. Nothing the other hadn't seen before, he assured himself. He carried that thought when he pulled down his sweats.

Seungcheol looked him over. Jihoon wasn't tall and wasn't particularly fit. He was skinny and soft in some places, stocky and firm in others. He had nice skin. Seungcheol looked for small blemishes and old bruises.

The boxers went last, and with hesitance as Jihoon fought with his mind to bare himself. “I know I'm not much to look at.” He'd turned his own head, faced the door instead of looking at Seungcheol.

“You're not that short.” The joke must have eased the nerves because Jihoon had hit him in a playful and open slap to his shoulder. He caught the wrist after, held it up and ran his own hand up along the arm. His other arm came around, pulling Jihoon into a tight hug just to see what it would feel like.

He shuddered, and he felt Jihoon shudder against him. It overwhelmed him where just the thought of breaking it caused a small whine to sound from his mouth.

Self-doubt and insecurities had melted away in Jihoon, his mind empty and hands thoughtlessly groping around just because it felt good, because the skin was thrilling and hot on his fingers.

No amount of research would have prepared them. They were stunned stupid by too much skin on skin, so they rubbed against each other until a brief moment of sense returned to Seungcheol and he directed them onto the couch. It was more comfortable to rub up against each other that way.

Seungcheol couldn't remember how their hands ended up on each other's cocks or what led up to it. He looked down and saw the small hand around him. He felt Jihoon in his own hand. He tugged, the other moaned.

Neither had felt an orgasm like it, a boil tearing pleasure from them, forcing them to shout nonsense and having the pair shaking into each other. And it was done, sense returning to them and the touch turning from warm to cool.

Jihoon had started shifting, meaning to sit himself but up arms came around and stopped him, holdin him in place again Seungcheol’s chest.

“This feels nice too,” the elder explained. He felt Jihoon nod into his chest and smiled. “I'm sorry, I lost control of myself.”

“I don't think either of us expected it to feel like that.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “You've got a nice body.” It sounded off-handed, more than he had meant it to.

“You too.”

Jihoon lifted his head and looked Seungcheol in the face. “You're just saying that.”

“You're cute,” Seungcheol insisted. “Everything about you is cute.”

“Hm,” Jihoon dismissed it.

Seungcheol started chuckling. He shook the other playfully, bouncing him around in his arms until Jihoon got annoyed and slipped out of the hold. He brought out the box of tissues to start the clean up and handed a small stack over.

“You're a good looking guy, Jihoon,” he said when he accepted the tissues.

“Yeah, yeah.” Dismissive as he was, Jihoon smirked when he thought Seungcheol couldn't see him. He started pulling his clothes back on once he'd wiped most of the cum off. “Hopefully we didn't get anything on the couch.”

“Imagine explaining that to Bumzu,” Seungcheol added while he got himself dressed. The normalcy after the fact was a little startling, but it didn’t feel forced. Neither of them felt weird around each other, and that in itself was almost weirder.

Once they were dressed, they parted and left to mull over more of what they were slowly coming to remember. Most of it uncovered itself like a dream, mostly noises and swears. Among the embarrassing, the rest was mostly good. It was more easygoing than Seungcheol had expected, less complicated than Jihoon had imagined.

They went out, just the two of them, to the park halfway between the next meeting they’d agreed upon. If it was a date, neither of them had discussed it or referenced it as one. They walked and talked, Seungcheol bought cotton candy while Jihoon bought the sodas. They seated themselves on an available bench far from where most of the foot traffic of the park occurred so they could have a little privacy.

“We should try kissing next time,” Seungcheol suggested.

He'd already lost his first kiss to Seungcheol a long time ago. He made a face recalling it, but dropped it before he turned to the other. “Do you actually want to kiss me or do you just want to see how it feels?”

Seungcheol shrugged. “I wouldn't mind kissing you.”

“So you just want to do it to see how it feels,” Jihoon concluded brusquely.

“Well, yeah,” His voice shrunk a little under the scrutiny. “You don't think about it?”

“I do,” Jihoon admitted with a softened tone.

“I wouldn't mind kissing you,” Seungcheol repeated. “Thinking about it, it's kind of exciting, like something we shouldn't be doing.”

“None of this is anything we should be doing,” Jihoon pointed out. It should’ve been funny. He ground his heel into a dirt patch on the ground and found the resolve to pose his own question. “I have a suggestion for next time. Been reading up on stuff.”

Seungcheol perked up. “Yeah?”

“We could try, you know,” Jihoon gestured with his hands, a vague and stuttered motion as he tried to articulate. “With our mouths.”

“Don't be afraid to talk about sex with me.” He'd lifted his hand to place on the shoulder and stopped himself abruptly. They didn't need to make a scene in the park.

“We could blow each other,” was rushed and Jihoon kept his eyes down at the pile of dirt he kicked up.

At the time Seungcheol didn't dwell, only nodded his agreement but it'd stayed on both of their minds until days later where they reserved the time to themselves, where Seungcheol remained half dressed and Jihoon still covered. They both were seated on the studio couch, side-by-side.

They hadn't touched each other yet. They were going to try kissing first, and Jihoon insisted he'd be the one to do it because even if his first kiss was already taken he wanted his first “proper” kiss to be on his own terms.

They'd looked at each other for a time, Jihoon's eyes darting back to Seungcheol's mouth every so often before there was a small jerk of the head and their mouths were pushed together. Seungcheol cupped the face in his hands and brought them closer, tugging at the lower lip with his own pair.

Jihoon's lips parted. He knew what to do, sort of. Knew the technicalities and any of his inhibitions were washed out by the heady grip on his arousal. It was something more immediate and powerful than the hardest alcohol he ever drank. His tongue was slack until he felt Seungcheol's slide across his, that spurred it into action.

Seungcheol lifted him right up into his lap, letting out a small grunt of exertion. He linked his arms behind Jihoon's back, pulled the younger flush against him and took Jihoon's mouth again.

If it was a bad kiss, he really couldn't tell. He certainly didn't care. Jihoon ground into him in small movements and it was Seungcheol who recalled their previous idea. He'd turned his body with the smaller still on him. Jihoon was fortunately light, easy to lay back against the armrest of the couch.

Jihoon's lips were shiny, a little red and swollen. His eyes were bright, wide and eager. His mouth curved, liked he was going to say something but it held the shape.

“You're sexy.” It felt like a confession despite how easy it spilled from his mouth. “Let me undress you.”

That sobered Jihoon up a bit. His cock was still painfully hard and his heart still pounded up to his ears but the words were clear and he wasn't sure when the flattery was supposed to kick in and overtake the terror. It never happened, he couldn't wait for it to. He nodded.

Seungcheol was careful not to tease any further. He was careful with popping the button on the jeans, careful with unzipping them. He pulled at the denim under the ass, baring the legs except for the boxers. Getting Jihoon out of his shirt seemed too arduous at the time so he pushed up the hem and exposed some of the stomach before going back for the boxers.

Too much. Too fast. He'd remembered their conversation suddenly when Seungcheol gingerly parted his knees and his fears ebbed into anticipation. He'd cried out when Seungcheol took him in his mouth, his own mouth so dry that his throat started feeling sore. His eyes locked on the pull of Seungcheol's cheeks inward as he sucked, the big eyes looking down at the action up up again to check Jihoon’s expression. His shirt kept falling back over his stomach and Seungcheool kept needing to push it back up.

He swore, loudly. Because it was painful in a way that didn't make sense to him, nothing like how he knew pleasure. His entire body was over-sensitive and over-reactive and the closer he'd approached his orgasm the more words were lost on him. He cried out again when he came, and shook under Seungcheol.

Seungcheol swallowed as it came spilling hot into his mouth. He only thought nothing of it because he thought nothing. He pulled off when Jihoon nodded at him, sat back for a breather and for a moment to wipe his mouth with his discarded shirt.

He'd realized his mistake when he turned to look at the other. He should have let Jihoon take him first, while he was in a state where he couldn't over think himself into insecurity and doubt. As always, though, Jihoon surprised him.

“Sit back, take your pants off,” Jihoon asserted. He did doubt himself and he was nervous, but after what Seungcheol had done for him he was set on returning the favor. He was set on relieving his friend. He was set on making the man feel good.

Seungcheol sat back for him, undressed for him, fully removing what was left of his clothing. Jihoon leaned over him, now more visibly hesitant. He looked back up at Seungcheol briefly before he bore down and closed his mouth over the cock head.

The reaction startled him, Seungcheol’s sudden buck of the hips. He held the leg down and focused on what he thought would make the other feel good. Never in his life had he imagined he’d be on the giving end of a blowjob, and he felt just as silly as he did lost. He used groans as guidance, the sounds from Seungcheol encouraging him. He flicked his tongue over the slit, sucking lightly. It’s what he’d seen in porn.

Seungcheol watched Jihoon go down on him, he felt his pelvic region throb, mouth hot and wet and burning on him. He gripped the cushion under him. The hand on him was pushing him down, there as a reminder to not thrust up but he didn’t even notice the roll of his own hips. He hardly heard the inconvenienced squeaks coming from the back of Jihoon’s throat.

His seed spilled out over the tongue. Jihoon only swallowed because he didn’t want any of it spilling out when he pulled his mouth off. He wanted to brush his teeth, but he didn’t complain when Seungcheol pulled him into a loose hug. “Great suggestion.”

“Wasn’t too bad,” Jihoon agreed. He could’ve done without the jabs to the gullet but the mood was too good to bring down. “I feel exhausted, though.”

“We’ll go to back to the dorms in a bit, we got all night to sleep.” He rested his chin on Jihoon’s shoulder, pressed his nose into the neck. “Can I kiss you?”

Jihoon raised a brow. “Wondering how it feels?”

“I just want to kiss you,” Seungcheol admitted with a laugh. “It was a little crazy before when we did it, I want to kiss you in my right mind.”

There was a flutter in his stomach and Jihoon turned his head, giving easy access to his mouth. His breath brushed against Seungcheol's lips, but he waited for the other to close the distance. Seungcheol leaned in tongue first, easily parting Jihoon's teeth for slide of tongue on tongue before pulling back and sucking on the bottom lip of the smaller man. Seungcheol pulled back, flashed a smile before kissing more gently.

It was different from before. The contact was soft and sweet. Kissing each other in earnest felt nice.

Two weeks passed before they secured another opportunity. In those two weeks Seungcheol had lost his sense for boundaries and would poke, prod and play with Jihoon. The teasing was a little obnoxious, but Jihoon didn’t mind it. It made him start to look forward to their next meetup.

Seungcheol remembered when Jihoon started flirting back. It was around the others, even. All thirteen of them were gathered for dinner and he tugged at Jihoon’s wrist. The smaller retaliated dragging his finger over the back of his elder’s neck. When he turned to confront him Jihoon wore a smirk and Seungcheol knew it he was beaten at his own game. Then it was Jihoon who sought every opportunity to get a rise out of the other.

When had they become so comfortable with each other? The thought came to Seungcheol in passing, they were chatting freely while getting undressed. 

Jihoon didn’t shy away under Seungcheol’s gaze, but he did call Seungcheol out, “Take a picture, it lasts longer.”

“I might, If you’ll let me.”

Jihoon snorted. Seungcheol was already undressed and seated. He patted his lap when Jihoon got out of his clothes. “What?”

“Get on,” Seungcheol clarified.

With a roll of the eyes, he stepped over and climbed onto Seungcheol’s lap. The hands curled behind his lower back and pulled him in for a wet kiss. He dragged his tongue over the bottom lip before pulling their mouths away from each other and pressing a kiss onto Jihoon's chin, further down onto the neck, over the Adam’s apple and attaching to the collar bone.

They were pressed tightly up against each other. Their fingers twitched to feel more of each other and their arms burning if they didn’t move. Seungcheol rubbed circles into Jihoon’s back while the other mimicked the motions.

Seungcheol adjusted so that his hard cock came up between Jihoon’s thighs. Their pricks rubbed together. He took both in hand and started pumping them dry and rough in his hands.

Jihoon shook first, shoulders tensed. He jerked back, almost tumbled backwards off of Seungcheol’s lap during his orgasm but the hand that had been pleasing him secured itself on his back and kept him stable. 

Back before they’d started “seeing each other”, as Jihoon referred to it, he had done some reading up on their situation, mostly just affirming him being significantly smaller very likely made him more susceptible to the touch.

It was a damn shame, in a way. He always felt like he lost his grounding a little more than the other. He didn’t like relinquishing his control. He didn’t like the idea of his body touch-starved and needy while his mind was reduced to little more than mush

Though there was something intimate about letting Seungcheol see him that way, something compelling about trusting his body to the other man. He liked that Seungcheol found him desirable like that, and of all the people in the world that could have become his “soulmate”, he was grateful it was his best friend.

Once the room felt a little less stuffy Jihoon ran his hands along the chest and squeezed the shoulders. “Let’s try something.” He slid off of Seungcheol, swallowed a laugh at the childish whine of protest from the other and found the lotion he kept in the studio. He pumped generously into his hands and coated his inner thighs. Good enough, he figured, and laid his back down on the couch. “Do you understand?”

Seungcheol licked his lips, his mouth felt dry. He nodded, knelt between Jihoon’s parted thighs. He grabbed each ankle, pulled them up and together tightly and let out a pleased hummed at Jihoon’s thighs squeezing his cock.

In his rational mind, watching Seungcheol above him heave into him was fascinating. The few times he’d given it thought he’d imagined it’d look dumb, but Seungcheol looked manly and handsome doing it even if he was slack-jawed and sweaty.

It wasn’t the most comfortable thing he thought up. His legs held up and pushed back was starting to put strain on his hips. He’d shifted just a bit, at least to ease the angle. He couldn’t imagine him feeling anymore out of place and awkward, but looking up and seeing the other enjoy himself so much kept Jihoon rubbing up and down thicker forearms affectionately.

When Seungcheol smiled at him, he smiled back. He wasn’t too pleased with the other coming on his stomach but he’d made his own mess on Seungcheol so it wasn’t exactly fair to comment on it. 

That time they’d cleaned up first, deciding not to linger in the studio. They definitely got some cum on the couch and mutually decided they’d deal with it another day.

Most of the others had already gone to sleep when they returned to the dorms, they were only greeted by Jeonghan and Soonyoung on their way in.

They took to the shower. Jihoon was asked to wash Seungcheol’s back, Seungcheol did the same with Jihoon and surprised him by pulling him into a hug from the back. It wasn’t the same sort of post orgasm feel where touch was cooling and soothing, but it was a comfortable warmth between them. One that made them sleepy.

“Sleep with me,” Seungcheol whispered when he sat on his bed, waving Jihoon over.

Jihoon climbed in beside Seungcheol, pressed shoulder to shoulder. The space was tight, but manageable and they were lulled to sleep by the warmth between them.

Seungcheol had been caught up in his thoughts recently, thoughts of Jihoon. Also dreams of Jihoon where he’d awoken from vivid touch and raw emotions. Not always sexual dreams, but often. Dreams of him pleasing Jihoon, of Jihoon pleasing him and them sharing appreciative glances and adoring grins.

Jihoon slept like the dead, dreamless. But he always made sure the first thing his eyes found in the morning was Seungcheol.

Being the more proactive of the two, Seungcheol had a confession planned. As he was making his way to finally make it, in his head he rehearsed the thoughts he had any time they’d laid side by side. He always imagined he’d whisper it then, before they fell asleep together, but his idiot self decided to visit unannounced in the studio.

As he stared at Jihoon, he struggled to speak. He was starting to grow hot under the collar, made anxious by the pair of eyes on him waiting expectantly. The concern on the other's face had him swallow his words. Jihoon must have assumed something was wrong.

“I never see you like this.” Jihoon's eyebrows furrowed, lip pulled into a sympathetic pout. He placed his hand on Seungcheol's knee and squeezed. He’d pulled his hand back when the touch heated, not wanting arousal to dampen a delicate moment. “What's got you down?”

He went about this the wrong way, and he knew he wore his fretting on his face. He glanced briefly at the small hand that was once placed on his knee, lips nearly curling into a grin at the cute fingers half-covered by long sleeves. He placed his hand over the smaller one, closing his fingers around it and pulling up to his mouth. He kept a careful eye on Jihoon's suddenly puzzled expression before he brought a knuckle up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss. He set the hand back down.

“Nothing’s wrong.” There was a catch in Seungcheol’s throat. “I’ve just never been happier in my whole life.”

Jihoon's brows raised. His mouth softened into a grin. “I think we’re lucky.”

As emotional as he felt, Seungcheol laughed. “More than that. More than just luck.”

“Like it was meant to be, right?”

“Yeah,” Seungcheol nodded. “Like it was meant to be.”

“I’m glad it was with you, that you talked me into it.” Jihoon admitted. He sucked in a breath, straightened his back. “I guess we’ll have to tell the guys now that it’s gotten to this point.”

“Let’s keep it our secret for a little longer. Can’t hurt.”

“Can’t hurt,” Jihoon agreed with a chuckle. “I sort of like keeping secrets between us.”

Now or never, Seungcheol figured. “Then you’ll love this one. This is one I’ve never told anyone before, one that I trust you with.”

Jihoon guessed what was coming, but the thrill still warmed his chest. Seungcheol leaned into him and whispered words into his ear.

“Believe me, you can trust me with it,” Jihoon giggled as he sat back. It was so stupid, such a childish way of hearing it but it still had a grip on him that made him feel like he could do anything, like he was a hundred feet tall. “Me too.”

Calling themselves soulmates didn’t seem that bad anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's a contender for the sappiest shit I've ever written in my life.
> 
> smash that like button comment rate subscribe upvote retweet follow me on instagram tip me in bitcoins #jicheol give me a five star review on yelp slip a fiver into my garter belt and whatever you do don't listen to anything I say
> 
> Thanks for reading.


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